Car-coupling



UNITED STATES PATENT Urrrca.

CHARLES A. ANDERSON, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 322,887, dated July 28, 1885.

Application filed October 20, 1884. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

to readily catch the counter-hook 0 of the Be it known that 1, CHARLES A. ANDER- link-pin d, and thereby hold said pin in sussON, of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Self Car-Coupler, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description.

My invention consists of improvements in mechanism for suspending the link-pin in such manner that a coupling with the link of an opposing draw head be assured, or, when so desired, the link-pin be held in suspension regardless of the link and opposing drawhead, thereby preventing the coupling, this condition being often desirable when switching cars, all as hereafter fully described;

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a side view of my improved car-coupler with the link in position. Fig. 2 is also a side View giving a section of a portion of the draw-head and upper mechanism, and illustrating by full and dotted lines the counter positions. Fig. 3 is a top View, and Fig. 4 is a detail, of the link-pin and the stirruped connecting-rod by which it is operated.

The draw-heads a a may be of any desirable form or material, the drawings showing the cast-iron three-link style,suitably attached to the car S by the bracket-bands r.

Firmly attached to the end of the car are the brackets 70, which have suitable bearings at their outer ends for supporting the crankrod h. The outer ends of the said rod are formed into cranks h h, for the purpose of conveniently operating the inner crank, h. To the said crank h is loosely attached the upper end, 6, of the stirruped connecting-rod e, the lower end, 6, being in a similar manner attached to the upper end of the linkpin d. Through these connections, as described, it will be evident that the said link-pin may be raised or lowered at will by any person operating either one of the crank-arms h.

At the inner end of the crank-arm h is hinged the upper and stirruped end of the suspension-hook g, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, one leg of the stirrup being broken away to show the method of hinging, a top view being shown in Fig. 3.

On one leg of the stirrup of the hook-rod g is the weight 9, its province being to keep the hook o of the hook-rod g in such position as pension. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

Loosely attached to the lower end of the hook g is the trap-rod m. It also is stirruped at its inner end that it may straddle the linkpin d and hook 0. Its outer end is bent at right angles,or otherwise formed, that it may readily come in contact wit-h the face of an opposing bumper. To aid in securing this end,the projection 12. n of the bumpers a a are placed in the position as shown.

The wing-weights d d of the link-pin d (see Fig. 4) are for the purpose of holding the link 23 in a horizontal position.

I preferably place the counter-hook 0 on the upper end of the link-pin d,- but it would be as available if fixed to the lower end,e, of the connecting-rod e.

In operation, it will readily be seen that if any portion of the face of'the bumper (1 comes in contact with the outer end of the trap-rod m, the hook n will be forced out of it's counter 0 of the link-pin d, and that the said linkpin will thereby fall into its place I) in the bumper a, effecting a coupling with the link z.

If a coupling be not desired,then the crank h is thrown to the position shown by the dot ted lines in Fig. 2, the crotch or stirrup in the upper end of the hook-rod g allowing the connecting-rod c to pass the center, whereby the trap-rod m is without effect to release the link-pin, and it is retained in suspension.

Having thus fully described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters link 03, all substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

CHARLES A. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

W. 0. (Jumps, M. T; WHITNEY. 

